Cutter bar guard finger



June 1954 G. w. HEISLER' ETAL CUTTER BAR GUARD FINGER Filed Sept. 9, 1952 Fig.

Fig. 2

Glen I4. Hal's/er Wayne He/s/er EdwardE Hal's/er IN V EN TORS 1 BY fizwcmiw Patented June 1, 1954 CUTTER BAR GUARD FINGER Glen W. Heisler, Wayne Heisler, and Edward E. Heisler, Etna Green, Ind.

Application September 9, 1952, Serial No. 308,541

3 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to new and useful improvements in guard fingers for the cutter bars of mowing machines and has for its primary object to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a device of this character comprising novel means for firmly supporting the intermediate portion of the cutter bar whereby sagging thereof will be prevented.

Another very important object of the invention is to provide a sag preventing guard finger of the aforementioned character which may be expeditiously mounted for use on the cutter bar at any desired point.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a cutter bar guard finger of the character set forth which will be comparatively simple in construction, strong, durable, compact, light in weight and which may be manufactured at low cost.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a cutter bar equipped with a guard finger in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the guard finger.

Referring now to the drawing in particular, it will be seen that the embodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises a guard finger 5 of suitable metal. The rear portion of the finger 5 is formed to provide atransversely elongated plate 6 which is apertured, as at l, to accommodate a bolt 8 for detachably securing said finger in position beneath a conventional cutter bar 9.

Formed integrally with the finger 5 is a ground engaging shoe or runner Ill. The shoe l comprises a solid metallic forward body portion l I having an inclined front end l2. Extending rearwardly from the body It is a horizontal bar I3 which terminates in an upwardly and forwardly extending rear end portion constituting a brace 14 which merges with the mounting plate 6.

The finger further includes a conventional ledger plate [5 which coacts in the usual manner with the blades iii of the sickle and which is secured in position by a rivet I1. A trans- 2 verse access opening [8 is provided in the body I l of the shoe In for the rivet I1. This is shown to advantage in Figure 2 of the drawing.

It is thought that the manner in which the device functions will be readily apparent from a consideration of the foregoing. Briefly, as the cutter bar 9 moves forwardly the shoe or runner I 0 travels on the surface of the ground and supports the intermediate portion of said cutter bar. The dimensions of the device are such as to prevent the cutter bar from sagging. If desired, several of the devices may be mounted on the cutter bar at spaced points. Of course, the device is installed on the cutter bar in the place of a conventional guard finger which has been removed. The brace I4 at the rear end of the member I3 permits the device to be produced without excess material and weight while at the same time insuring ample strength and ruggedness.

It is believed that the many advantages of a cutter bar guard finger constructed in accordance with the present invention will be readily understood and although a preferred embodi- :nent of the device is as illustrated and described, it is to be understood that changes in the details of construction may be resorted to which will fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. An elongated cutter bar having cutter bar guards secured therealong, end guards having runners in 'a plane below the plane of the intermediate guards, a centrally located cutter bar guard, said last mentioned guard having a runner extending downwardly therefrom to form a central support for said cutter bar, said runner on the central guard lying substantially in the plane of the end guard runners.

2. An elongated cutter bar having cutter bar guard secured therealong, end guards having runners in a plane below the plane of the intermediate guards, a centrally located cutter bar guard, said last mentioned guard having a runner extending downwardly therefrom to form a central support for said cutter bar, wherein said runner is secured to the forward end of said last mentioned guard, said runner extending downwardly and rearwardly therefrom and terminating rearwardly of the last mentioned guard in a reversely curved portion attached to the rear of the last mentioned guard, said runner on the central guard lying substantially in the plane of the end guard runners.

invention, what is 3. A cutter bar guard for attachment centrally of a cutter bar and having a. forward pointed end, a runner extending downwardly and rearwardly from the forward end of the guard and terminating rearwardly of the guard in a reversely curved portion extending upwardly and connected to the guard thereby forming a continuous line of support for the central portion of the cutter bar, said runner lying in a plane below the plane of other guards on the bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Owen Nov. 21, 1871 Abrott June 5, 1900 Von Schlegell Oct. 2, 1951 Hooley Feb. 24, 1953 

